Novak Djokovic will play his first match at a Major since his default at the US Open.
But Tuesday’s most intriguing matchups feature home favorites. A pair of French veterans will be underdogs against two top 10 men’s seeds, while the women’s French No.1 tries to bounce back after one of the bigger chokes in recent memory. And a day after two ATP top 10 seeds were upset, two other top 10 men look to rebound after disappointing losses in New York. By the end of the day, the first round of singles play should be complete in Paris.
Denis Shapovalov (9) vs. Gilles Simon
The 21-year-old Canadian has taken his career to the next level over the past year. It started with his title win last October in Stockholm, then reaching the final of his first Masters 1,000 event in this city. A few weeks ago, Denis achieved his first Major quarterfinal in New York. He immediately backed that up with a semifinal run in Rome, where he went down in defeat to Diego Schwartzman in one of the best matches of this abbreviated season. Simon is nearly 15 years older than Denis, with his best tennis clearly behind him. Gilles has lost more matches than he’s won over the last two seasons. However, the lack of pace in his ball, paired with his variety, can still be effective. That was evident last summer at Queens Club, where he upset Kevin Anderson and Daniil Medvedev on his way to the final. Their only previous meeting was last year in this same city, at the Paris Indoors, but they only played four games before Simon retired. The speed and harder ball striking of Shapovalov make him the favorite to advance.
Roberto Bautista Agut (10) vs. Richard Gasquet
Like his fellow countryman Simon, Gasquet displayed last summer that he’s still capable of some great play. Gasquet reached a Masters 1,000 semifinal last August in Cincinnati, which included a three-set win over Bautista Agut in the quarters. But the Spaniard avenged that loss at this year’s event, on his way to the final. Roberto is 6-2 against Richard, though they’ve never met on clay. After going 4-7 in his first seven appearances at his country’s Major, Gasquet has fared a bit better of late, even reaching the quarters four years ago. And he hasn’t lost a first round match at Roland Garros since a decade ago. But in slow conditions against a player who excels at collecting errors from his opponents, that may change today.
Kristina Mladenovic vs. Laura Siegemund
It’s been a rough few weeks for Mladenovic. Earlier this month at the US Open, she was up 6-1, 5-1 over Varvara Gracheva, and even reached match point. But she would eventually lose the second set in a tiebreak, and went down 6-0 in the third. That same week, she was forced to withdraw from the doubles event, where she was the top seed alongside Timea Babos, due to contact with Benoit Paire, who had tested positive for COVID-19. This will be her first match since leaving quarantine in the New York bubble, facing the pressure of being the top-ranked Frenchwoman in Paris. And she faces a player who is accomplished on clay. All three WTA finals Siegemund has played in her career have been on this surface. Like Mladenovic, Siegemund has found more success of late in doubles. In Kiki’s absence, Laura went on to win this year’s US Open women’s doubles title alongside Vera Zvonareva. Siegemund was the star of that championship match, dominating at the net. While Mladenovic is the more accomplished singles player, and reached a quarterfinal here three years ago, Siegemund has won two of their three meetings. All three matches have been close, with two contested on clay. Kiki claimed their most recent encounter, last May in the qualifying rounds of Madrid. Their polar opposite experiences at the US Open could prove to be the difference today. Mladenovic may struggle to shrug off her New York frustration, while Siegemund should be inspired by her doubles glory.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) vs. Jaume Munar
Tsitsipas is another player who has some heartbreak to recover from. At this event a year ago, he was defeated by Stan Wawrinka in a five-set, five-hour epic. Obviously gutted by the loss, he would go on to lose in the first round of the next two Majors. At the US Open a few weeks ago, Stefanos was up two-sets-to-one and 5-1 in the fourth over Borna Coric, before failing to convert six match points and losing in a fifth set tiebreak. And just two days ago in the final of Hamburg, he served for the championship at 5-3 in the third, but dropped the next four games and the title to Andrey Rublev. That’s scar tissue on top of scar tissue. And while his opponent today is ranked outside the top 100, Munar can play on the clay. He earned 30 match wins on this surface at all levels last season. And Jaume was a finalist in the junior event here six years ago, losing to Rublev. This is a tricky opening round for a man who cannot be fresh physically or emotionally, but I expect Tsitsipas to fight his way through and advance. His talent and recuperative abilities have gotten him through challenging obstacles before.
Matteo Berrettini (7) vs. Vasek Pospisil
Both of these players are coming off fourth round runs at the US Open. For Pospisil, it was a career highlight. The 30-year-old Canadian hadn’t advanced beyond the second round of a Major in over five years, when he was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon. His victories over Milos Raonic and Roberto Bautista Agut were most impressive. For Berrettini, it was a disappointment. A semifinalist in 2019, he was defeated by the same man he had beaten in the fourth round a year prior: the aforementioned Andrey Rublev. Despite Pospisil’s recent success, Berrettini is a strong favorite in their first career meeting. Matteo’s power is a force on all surfaces, while Vasek is 0-6 lifetime at the French Open.
Other Notable Matches on Day 3:
2016 champion Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Mikael Ymer, a 22-year-old from Sweden who won 39 matches and four titles on the Challenger circuit last year.
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin (4) vs. Liudmila Samsonova, a 21-year-old Russian looking for her first win at a Slam. How will Kenin respond after her 6-0, 6-0 thumping in Rome at the hands of Victoria Azarenka?
2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko vs. Madison Brengle. Ostapenko leads their head-to-head 2-1, though she’s 0-3 in Paris outside of her 2017 title run.
2017 semifinalist Karolina Pliskova (2) vs. Mayar Sherif (Q), a 24-year-old from Egypt making her Major debut. The winner will play either Ostapenko or Brengle.
2018 runner-up Sloane Stephens (29) vs. Vitalia Diatchenko, a 30-year-old Russian who is 4-13 in her career at Majors.
Tuesday’s full schedule is here.
